Disobedience by Kaitlyn Andersen

Author:Kaitlyn Andersen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endpapers Press
Published: 2021-02-05T12:53:32+00:00

TWENTY

Finn took her time tidying up the training room, relishing the alone time, something she’d gotten precious little of since returning to Independence. Her students had been released and Enyo, Conrad, and Shane had gone off with them in search of breakfast.

She pushed the mats up against the wall and sat down on one of the weight machines, turning abruptly when a throat cleared behind her.

AJ stood at the room’s entrance, his dark eyes darting around and his posture uncertain.

“I thought you were long gone, kid. Training is over for the day,” Finn told him.

The boy looked at the ground and scuffed his shoe on the floor.

“I know. Shane wants everyone on the bridge in five. I offered to let you know.”

A meeting on the bridge?

Finn’s heart sped up.

“Thanks. I’ll be up in a minute.”

Several seconds passed in silence and AJ’s eyes darted around the room nervously.

“Was there something else?” she asked him.

AJ bit his lip hesitantly.

“Spit it out, kid.”

His words left him in a rush.

“It’s just that, I heard Shane and Iliana talking. The things the Reliance did to you when you were a kid . . . is all that true?”

Finn swallowed hard past the dry lump that had formed in her throat and did her best to sound casual.

“Depends on what you heard.”

“They tortured you?” he asked softly.

Tension filled the air and Finn struggled to respond. Finally, she simply nodded in affirmation.

“Me too. Did they . . .” He hesitated slightly before the question spilled out of him. “Did they make you kill someone?”

AJ’s hands had balled into fists and his spine straightened as he awaited an answer.

“Is that what they made you do, AJ?” she asked him gently.

It took him long moments, but eventually he nodded his head, tears welling in his eyes.

“They made me use my abilities on people . . . Made me convince them to do horrible things. I didn’t want to,” he added in a rush. “They made me do it.”

Finn’s heart ached for the boy as she remembered the Reliance brand she’d seen burned into his chest.

“It wasn’t your fault, AJ; you never had a choice back then, but now you do.”

“Yeah, thanks to you,” he murmured as his eyes brightened. “Training with you is . . . Well, it’s the happiest I’ve ever been. I finally feel like I’m a part of something, you know?”

“You’ve always been a part of something,” she told him. “Shane and Conrad have given you a chance to help other people like you. Not many of us get a chance like that.”

AJ’s eyes narrowed angrily.

“They don’t understand what it’s like.”

“Maybe not, but they love you. That’s got to be worth something. Besides, they’ve both suffered in their own ways. It may not be the same as what you or I went through, but it’s suffering all the same.”

He seemed to think over what she said, his mind going to work behind those dark eyes. A tiny sparkle appeared there and he grinned with reverence.

“I’ve never seen anyone take Shane down like that.

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